Desiring to Know Christ

“To know you is to want to know you more” – This line from the Casting Crowns’ song “To Know You” really hit my heart the other day while worshipping. How many Christians truly know Christ to the point to where they only want to know Him more? Not many would be my guess. I felt in my Spirit that we do not really know Him until we get to this point in our walk, our relationship, our surrender to Him. This song talks about how much we should WANT to know Christ more and that it should be all we want in life.

What is your greatest desire in life? Most of the time we do not slow down long enough to really think this question through, we just answer it with the canned answer we have been taught to give, depending upon who is asking. But why should we answer differently, depending upon who is asking? Have you been taught that a surrendered walk with Christ should be your number one goal, your only true desire…and that everything else is just filler with no power in your life? I know that my real joy comes when I am basking in His presence, worshipping Him without any strings attached. I love the joy and love I feel from Him when I just sit in His presence. When life gets rough or I am just having a bad day, my heart longs for moments when I can just sit still in His presence and get filled back up with His strength and peace.

I know we all get busy “living life” and do not believe we have time to get to know Him more. But this is an untrue statement the enemy plants in our minds to keep us from drawing closer to the Lord. Paul said that he counts everything that has been a ‘gain’ in his life as loss (a detriment) when compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). I love the Amplified bible version of this verse, it really gets into the heart of the meaning of his statement:

Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One)” Philippians 3:8 (AMP)

 

How many Christians consider knowing Christ a “priceless privilege”, something that should be treasured and protected? Unfortunately, I know the answer is not all and probably not even most. We have such a wonderful opportunity given to us by Christ, to know Him intimately while we are still here on earth. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to know our Savior as our friend; He has opened the door for us to step through daily. He has opened this door, because He desires to have a relationship with you, not to give you a religion full of rules and regulations. He died to fulfill the law, to complete it, in order that we might live in grace and have relationship with Him. The law separated us from God, but when Christ died on the cross, God tore the veil in the temple, no longer separating man from Him (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). Christ died for your sins and mine, so that we could have fellowship with Him once again, as it was in the Garden before the fall of man. Through Christ, our relationship with God was restored, made complete once again. This is the priceless privilege we have through Christ, something that cannot be bought, something that is given freely for those who ask and are willing to surrender to Him. Nothing in this world can cover your sins, the wrongs you have done, only the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary, Him taking your punishment. Christ our King, our Lord, willingly died on the cross for you and for me, so that we may have fellowship with Him here on earth and in heaven. WOW, how awesome and unexplainable is that!!! This is the “gain” Paul speaks about, the gain of knowing the God who took our place, took our punishment upon Himself, and the ability to have Him as our best friend.

The door is only opened by Christ, we must still make the choice and effort to step through it. We step through this door by surrendering to Him, allowing Him to be the Master of our life. We must live our life to please Him and not ourselves, no matter what the cost. What price could we possibly pay, compared to the price He paid or compared the price of knowing Him more? It is about more than just knowing Him, it is about getting to know Him more and more and more, more deeply and more intimately every day.

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